In the context of computer systems, enterprise storage architectures provide mass electronic storage of large amounts of data and information. The frenetic pace of technological advances in computing and networking infrastructure—combined with the rapid, large-scale sociological changes in the way these technologies are used—has driven the transformation of enterprise storage architectures faster than perhaps any other aspect of computer systems. This has resulted in various arrangements for storage architectures which attempt to meet the needs and requirements of complex computer systems.
A number of these arrangements may utilize a technique referred to as clustering. With clustering, access for reading/writing data into and out of mass data storage (e.g., tape or disk storage) is provided by a cluster of computers. Each computer may be considered a “node.” The nodes are used to improve performance in a storage architecture by performing various, independent tasks in parallel. Furthermore, the nodes in the cluster provide redundancy. Specifically, in the event that one node fails, another node may take over the tasks of the failed node.
In a clustering technique, the various nodes must communicate with each other to support the functionality described above. This communication between nodes is provided by cluster interconnects. Previously developed cluster interconnects include standard network connections (e.g., Ethernet), storage interconnections (e.g., Fibre Channel), and specialized network connections (e.g., SERVERNET from Tandem/Compaq and MEMORY CHANNEL from Digital Equipment Corporation/Compaq). Such previously developed cluster interconnects, and the associated protocols, are suitable for “general purpose” clusters.
However, for high-performance clusters, such as those implemented with RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive/Independent Disks) controllers, the previously developed cluster interconnects and associated protocols are inadequate or otherwise problematic. For example, these previously developed cluster interconnects and associated protocols do not provide sufficient bandwidth to fully realize the potential of high-performance clusters. Furthermore, the previously developed cluster interconnects and associated protocols require a significant software overhead, which reduces the processing power otherwise available for memory storage access.